WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has welcomed confirmation of the Environment Agency’s continuation of support for the permanent flood scheme at Severn Stoke.
Work was planned to begin this summer but the scheme was hit with further delays after the Worcestershire County Council contractor Alun Griffiths withdrew from the scheme.
The Environment Agency has written to the MP to confirm it remains committed to the scheme and is working with the county council to find contractors to construct the bund and raise a minor road at the flood hit village.
Dame Harriett said: “It has been extremely frustrating to see contractors on the Environment Agency and Worcestershire County Council rosters have either been unable or unwilling to carry out the work.
“We were all expecting to see spades in the ground next month and I feel for the villagers and business owners in Severn Stoke who keep getting their hopes raised and then dashed.
“I was pleased to receive confirmation from the Environment Agency that it remains committed to delivering the scheme and I hope someone is found who is willing to do the work very soon.”
When the Observer reported on the delays due to contractors pulling out in March 2025, Councillor Emma Stokes, cabinet member for the environment at Worcestershire County Council, echoes Dame Harriett’s disappointment on behalf of the council.
The councillor added: “We’re urgently trying to secure an alternative construction contractor for the EA scheme in Severn Stoke and, in the meantime, we continue to work with the EA to continue completion of the scheme design, assessment of the material on site, materials planning, discharging planning conditions and making preparations for a seamless handover to any new contractor (subject to the affordability criteria of the EA).“
